allowing an indoor cat to go outside

Hi,

Can anyone give me feedbacks or ideas, either from personal experiences or stories they've heard on how to, or even if possible to, start allowing an indoor cat to go outside? I have a cat that's been indoor all her life (4 years old) and I just feel that her life would be so much more enjoyable and full if I allowed her to go outside. My question is will she run away or will she know her way home? Also, are there ways and certain things I can start doing to slowly introduce her into the outside world; or is this just an impossible intention on my part? Any ideas or advice would be so gratefully helpful.

Have a great day all,
Asianeyes67

Does she have lots of room and toys and windows? All of my cats have stayed indoors since we got them. There is so many things that can hurt them (cars, other animals, other cats carrying disease).

You can look into training her on a harness or set up an outside enclosure so she can spend some time outdoors.

My advice: Don't let your cat out. Her life will be much less enjoyable if she is bitten by a dog, tortured by neighbors, hit by a car, poisoned by antifreeze, given FIV getting into a catfight, etc, than the possible frustration of not being able to play kitty in the grass. Outdoor cats have a life expectancy of five years, rather than fifteen or twenty.
You could also consider harness training her (it is possible, Zissou and I go for walks all the time!) or getting an enclosure that is cat proof. (katachtig and I posted at the same time- I agree with you, then!)
For personal stories, try looking in the Cats SOS section for the terrible and often sad stories of cats who've run away, disappeared, or been injured or killed.

Aside from that, your cat is older now, and if there are other cats around will be viewed as far more of a threat to territory than a kitten.

She may not want to go out anyway. What made you think of this after years of having an indoor kitty?

Here's some good advice on how to help her enjoy life inside:
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/ca...y_indoors.html
And here's more on why you should keep your baby inside:
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/ou...rs_or_out.html

I would look at making your garden escape proof or maybe building a run or an enclosure.

I would be worried that at 4 years old she might not be as street savvy as those who have been allowed out since kitten hood.

Hi again,

I'll try and make this short. Mollie (my cat) was my first pet ever and due to lack of knowledge I didn't expose her to any sort of (got her when she was 4 wks old. BTW) social environment, with animals or people. She is extremely a mean cat (but I don't love her any less). When I 1st took her to the vet for a nail trim and a shampoo they had a very hard time (due to her temperament) so they suggested I should have her sedated the next time she comes in. Sure enough they sedated her the second time she came in and she fought the sedation so they were only abled to trim 3 of her paws and the shampoo didn't even happen. So the vet said if she comes in again they would have to completely put her under for the 2 services. I didn't take that route. About a year ago I got another cat (Spencer) hoping Mollie would come around if she had a companion. Spencer is just such a beautiful boy with an excellent disposition. He plays with everyone (humans and animals) and even people that didn't like cats love him. It's been a year and Mollie is just slowly willing to share a window ledge with Spencer; although I have to say Spencer holds his own with Mollie and won't let her intimidate him with her hisses and acts of threats when they are in view of one another. Three days ago I got a Papillon (Fiji, who is 11 weeks old) as a companion for Spencer and hopefully Mollie (sometimes in the far future. lol) OMG, the first day I took her home and put her down Spencer and her just hit it right off; playing with each other, rubbing noses, and they even sleep with one another. Spencer is so careful and gentle when playing with Fiji. HOWEVER, Mollie hisses and shows teeth and has been cooped up in the garage and if she comes upstairs for food she will ferociously hiss just at the sight of Fiji. Mollie has given me many, many scars from her scratching me. I thought about declawing but absolutely decided against it. I suppose I don't have to convert her into an indoor/outdoor cat (for the exact reasons everyone has told me from the replies) and in time I hope she'll come around; but I just don't see a great/happy life for anyone if they are confined in a garage. There is really no need to convert her in my eyes but when I put myself in Mollie's shoes, I feel very, very sad for her (maybe cats don't care-this is how I try to justify it). Maybe cats don't feel as I do about that????? If only she could talk; that would solve everything. lol Thanks again all!!!

asianeyes67

That sounds like such a stressful situation for everyone!

If you search the forums, you can find tons of threads dealing with similar situations and how people have reintroduced cats to each other. Some things you will find over and over are
By far #1-- Feliway plug-ins
2-- putting pure vanilla extract on them all so they smell alike
3-- separating them for awhile and reintroducing them like they're brand new to each other
You could also try SoftPaws so you don't get scratched!
Poor Mollie! I'm glad you've decided to keep her safe inside though.

Originally Posted by asianeyes67

Hi,

Can anyone give me feedbacks or ideas, either from personal experiences or stories they've heard on how to, or even if possible to, start allowing an indoor cat to go outside? I have a cat that's been indoor all her life (4 years old) and I just feel that her life would be so much more enjoyable and full if I allowed her to go outside. My question is will she run away or will she know her way home? Also, are there ways and certain things I can start doing to slowly introduce her into the outside world; or is this just an impossible intention on my part? Any ideas or advice would be so gratefully helpful.

Have a great day all,
Asianeyes67

Click to expand...

i harnessed trained all my cats (it doesn't take very long) and they go outside if it is nice at least once a day.

Like what everybody else has said, if the cat is going to be outdoors, make sure he/she isn't able to roam around the whole neighborhood and onto the streets. When I hear of horrible stories about cats, they're usually outdoor cats.

You be the judge of your neighborhood. I have a friend who has an outdoor cat for more than 15 years and everything has been going well (then again, that cat is like the bully of other cats).

I say keep the furry indoors!!

I really do think that the way you've introduced the newest kitty explains her recent behavior. Some cats, such as Spencer, can just sidle up to a new kitty and say, Hey, we should be friends! Others, like Mollie, need at least a week with the new cat in the house before they even see each other. I would say that reintroducing them should help alot.
Thank you SOOOO much for not declawing any of the kits!

Well I am not familiar with the new cat, but I can speak on going outdoors. My cat Krista used to go out all the time and we didn't have a fence or anything. She never went anywhere but the back yard and she would always try to run in the house if she heard noise (ie: people) when a dog came thru the yard one day she run up a tree. Other time she got scared or tired of being outdoors she tore a whole thru our screen door and climbed in Not that we approved of that. But all in all she enjoyed the backyard, no other cats, no wondering etc. She just hung out and ate grass...